Pretty presents procure pristine presence

The store opened about 11 months after leaving Windward Mall, where the collectibles and gift shop was a charter tenant.

It closed its doors July 31, 2006, after Aoki-Phillips and Windward Mall management could not agree on a relocation plan for the shop.

"It took longer than we expected ... and setting up took longer than we expected," but her lines of collectibles, home fragrance products, jewelry, hair accessories and more are now ensconced behind big storefront windows in the shopping center breezeway between L&L Drive-Inn and Rent-A-Center.

"We still have our same products and we have new products that we're bringing in for Christmas," she said.

Loyal customers on the mailing list got news of the new location and familiar product lines, including figurines from Precious Moments, Hummel and the Walt Disney Classics Collection to name a few.

Her shop is also known for selling the Fragrance Puffs scented beads you see hanging in drawstring sachets from rear-view mirrors -- or that you don't see, tucked into unmentionables drawers and closets.

"We have 36 fragrances," she said, including four new ones, she said.

The store also offers gift basket and gift-wrapping service.

"We're happy to bring gifts like these to everyone," she said.

Her husband Kenneth Phillips Jr., an appliance maintenance and repair technician, is also happy to have the boxes of merchandise out of the house, she giggled.

The store's fixtures were in storage, but not at the house.

The environment and foot traffic are different from the mall, "but I like it already. I feel comfortable here," she said.

It doesn't hurt that Down Memory Lane, a scrapbooking shop across the way, is run by her friend.

Edible Arrangements, a franchise that sells arrangements of prepared fresh fruit, opened this month, said Austin Hirayama, principal broker of Hawaiian Asset Management, which manages the complex.

It is the third location on Oahu and the first on the Windward side. The other two are in Manoa Marketplace and at 1164 Bishop St.

The Hawaii Air National Guard is opening a recruiting office, both a complement and competition for the four active-duty services' recruiting offices across from McDonald's.

A yet-unnamed vitamin and nutritional supplement shop will also open in the coming months on the lower level, below 24-Hour Fitness.